Red Sox

Baseball ASTROS -- Activated P Rick White from 15-day DL. Optioned OF Chris Burke to Triple-A Round Rock. ATHLETICS -- Agreed to five-year contract through 2011 with OF Nick Swisher. BLUE JAYS -- Placed P Roy Halladay on 15-day DL. CUBS -- 1B-3B Phil Nevin retired. DIAMONDBACKS -- Placed IF Alberto Callaspo on restricted list without pay. Called up IF Donnie Sadler from Triple-A Tucson. MARINERS -- Placed P Jeff Weaver on 15-day DL. Recalled P Ryan Rowland-Smith from Triple-A Tacoma.

I don't think I'm being Paul Revere here in bringing you news of the Red Sox's World Series sweep of Colorado or the undefeated Patriots' 52-7 trouncing of Washington. In fact, Boston's outrageously successful teams have been so good, there might be only one meaningful sports debate: Which is the better team, the BoSox or the Pats (we'll worry about the Colts game later). Team numbers Red Sox: Tied for the major leagues' best regular-season record but had the best run differential, outscoring the opposition by 210 runs.

Daniel Cabrera, the Orioles' 6-foot-9 right-hander with a high-90s fastball and hit-the-mascot lack of control, knows his reputation around the league: He's not afraid to pitch inside, or, for that matter, plunk someone. So when one of his heat-seeking missiles buzzed behind the head and back of Boston's Dustin Pedroia in the fourth inning of the Orioles' 4-0 loss to the Red Sox last night - the club's 15th defeat in 17 games - the reaction was typical. Red Sox @Orioles Tonight, 7:05, MASN, 102.7 FM Starters: Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-11, 4.11 ERA)

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- It started here six weeks ago, with more than 200 members of the international media gathered to witness 2007's biggest baseball story. The hype really hasn't let up, with cover pieces in Sports Illustrated, USA Today and the Sporting News, with daily dispatches throughout all of Japan and with 50 to 100 reporters and cameramen chronicling each of Daisuke Matsuzaka's spring starts. Dice-K, as the 26-year-old right-hander is known, was going to be a phenomenon with whomever he joined.

Tomorrow, Mariners 7:05 p.m., MASN Wednesday, Mariners 7:05 p.m., MASN Thursday, Mariners 7:05 p.m., MASN Friday, Red Sox 7:05 p.m., MASN Saturday, Red Sox 3:55 p.m., chs. 45, 5 [Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

BOSTON -- There is supposed to be little drama remaining now that the Boston Red Sox have disposed of their American League rivals and are ready to take on a little-known, small-market club in the 103rd World Series, which starts in Boston tonight. That was the feeling last year, too, when the Detroit Tigers survived the ultra-competitive AL and were so certain to be World Series champions that one major newspaper jokingly predicted Detroit would win the best-of-seven matchup in three games.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- For a few magical minutes, he makes you forget about the surliness of Barry Bonds. And the selfishness of Roger Clemens. He makes you forget about the arrogance of Scott Boras. And the absurdity of Bud Selig. And players shilling themselves by injecting steroids. And killing themselves by driving drunk. I wish everybody had a chance to do what I did Thursday afternoon. You want to feel good again about the national pastime? Sit in the dugout for a half-hour and talk baseball with Don Zimmer - the grand old man of the grand old game.

Moves Baseball BRAVES -- Recalled IF Martin Prado from Triple-A Richmond. Placed P Anthony Lerew on 15-day DL. PIRATES -- Optioned 1B-OF Brad Eldred to Triple-A Indianapolis. Activated C Humberto Cota from 15-day DL. Optioned P Marty McLeary to Indianapolis. RANGERS -- Recalled P Wes Littleton from Triple-A Oklahoma. Optioned P John Koronka to Oklahoma. REDS -- Activated P Aaron Harang from bereavement list. Optioned IF Jeff Keppinger to Triple-A Louisville. RED SOX -- Recalled P Kason Gabbard from Triple-A Pawtucket to start yesterday and optioned him back to Pawtucket after game.

Grand fashion If the Orioles wanted to evaluate third baseman Scott Moore by starting him ahead of Melvin Mora, they learned that he can get around on Daisuke Matsuzaka's fastball. Moore hit his first career grand slam, and his first home run since Sept. 18, 2006, to clear the bases in the third inning, break a 4-4 tie and knock Matsuzaka from the game. Moore was the ninth batter to come to the plate in the inning, which began with the Boston Red Sox leading 4-1. No mismatch The Orioles didn't seem to have the advantage in a game pitting Matsuzaka against Jon Leicester, but it played out much differently on the field than on paper.

A few seconds after Boston Red Sox rookie Clay Buchholz snapped off a curveball to freeze the last batter and complete an improbable no-hitter, former Orioles pitcher Scott McGregor braced for the inevitable. He has heard the refrain before. Only the names change. "When I saw Buchholz throw his no-hitter, I go, `Oh no, I know what's going to happen now. What's wrong with Radhames Liz?' Well, how many Buchholzes come along?" Not enough in the Orioles' system. They're usually the victims, rather than the beneficiaries.

They will not play the Boston Red Sox again in a game with any sort of meaning until late April of next season, giving the Orioles more than seven months to lick their wounds. The Orioles' final game against their tormentors in 2009 played out like so many before it. The Red Sox pounded an Orioles starting pitcher, secured a seven-run lead and were never threatened in a 9-3 victory Sunday at half-empty Camden Yards, where the only disappointment for the legions of Boston fans at the stadium came when the final score of the New York Jets-New England Patriots game appeared on the scoreboard.

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis is adamant that he has had much tougher stretches in the major leagues, regardless of what the numbers suggest. Markakis went 0-for-4 in Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox and finished the second-to-last homestand of the season 2-for-26 with just one RBI, two walks and six strikeouts. "I'm in a funk right now," said Markakis, whose average dropped to .293. "I think my timing is off a little bit and I'm missing a few pitches. It's baseball. I just got to get myself out of it and finish up strong.

Based on the stats, the recent history, the standings, the pitching matchup and any other indicator that could be dusted off, Saturday night's Orioles-Boston Red Sox contest at Camden Yards was supposed to be a one-sided affair. The final result, an 11-5 Boston win that gave the Red Sox a mind-numbing 15-2 advantage in the season series between the American League East foes, was predictable. How it unfolded, though, wasn't. The Orioles were in the game through six innings; their rookie, David Hernandez, had his best outing in three weeks; and the enigmatic offense was bashing Orioles-killer Jon Lester, Boston's left-hander.

Each day seemingly brings more attrition to the Orioles' roster, with the latest setback coming Friday afternoon, when the club shut down rookie outfielder Nolan Reimold for the rest of the season so he can undergo surgery on his left Achilles tendon. The loss of Reimold robbed an offense, which is already without the injured Adam Jones and the traded Aubrey Huff, of one of its most consistent performers at a time when the Orioles are trying desperately just to stay in games, a task that is getting more difficult as the season wears on. Right-hander Clay Buchholz held the home team to one run over six innings, and the Boston Red Sox continued their dominance over the punchless Orioles with a 3-1 victory in front of an announced 26,812 on Friday night at Camden Yards.

The Red Sox had won seven straight games before losing the series finale, 4-3, to the Los Angeles Angels. They have a six-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the American League wild-card race. Boston entered Thursday night third in the AL in runs and second behind the New York Yankees in home runs. The Red Sox's team ERA was third in the league. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez, acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in a post-trade-deadline deal, is batting .290 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 29 games.

BOSTON - -The sizable gap between the two teams in proven major league talent is a perfectly acceptable explanation for the Boston Red Sox's recent dominance over the Orioles. But there are more subtle differences as well that fall into the realm of one team finding a way to win and the other consistently finding ways to lose. Victor Martinez came off the bench and delivered a three-run double off Danys Baez to break a seventh-inning tie and push the Red Sox to a 7-5 victory over the Orioles in front of an announced 37,712 Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

BOSTON - - It was a perfect way for the Orioles to encapsulate a dozen years of losing baseball. Seven Orioles pitchers combined to give up six home runs and five walks. Thirteen Orioles batters managed a grand total of five hits and no runs. The predictable result was a 10-0 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Red Sox, who have scored double-digit runs five times against the Orioles this season. The Orioles clinched their 12th consecutive losing season by watching the Red Sox turn Tuesday night's series opener at Fenway Park into a glorified round of Home Run Derby.

Although their chances of catching the New York Yankees in the American League East appear slim, the Boston Red Sox have a 2 1/2-game lead over the the Texas Rangers for the wild-card spot. Victor Martinez, acquired from the Cleveland Indians, has six homers and 24 RBIs in 34 games since joining the Red Sox. Mike Lowell, one of many Red Sox whose playing time has been affected by Martinez's arrival, has seven homers and 28 RBIs since the All-Star break. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury has 60 stolen bases, eclipsing Tommy Harper's Red Sox record of 54, set in 1973.

News item: : Hip-hop star Snoop Dogg visited Ravens training camp Thursday and put on quite a show, spoofing Ray Lewis' "What time is it?" pre-game ritual and showing some nice dance moves in the team's agility ladder drill. My take: : Then the club tried him out at wide receiver. News item: : Red Sox slugger David Ortiz has scheduled a news conference for today at Yankee Stadium to explain his 2003 positive test for a performance-enhancing substance. My take: : It seems like Ortiz wants to be a stand-up guy, but if he announces that it was a female fertility drug and he used it only once to deal with a legitimate medical issue, well, that's when I'm going to become really cynical about this steroid thing.

Of all the things that happened in the Orioles' 18-10 loss to the Boston Red Sox Sunday in a game that seemed like it would never end, this sequence was the most deflating for the home team. The Orioles scored six times in the bottom of the third inning to get back within a run in a game that, just minutes earlier, they seemed hopelessly out of. When they came back to the plate for the bottom of the fourth, their deficit had suddenly ballooned to eight. "There's that song, 'Momma said there'd be days like this.